Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim is shockingly enough a sequel to Majesty, which is a game I have not played. From what I gather on the net, Majesty 2 is considered a decline from the first game. Since I have not played it, a direct comparison will be lost on me. So, with that in mind, Majesty 2 will be reviewed as a stand-alone title, and I can tell you right now – this is one of my favorite go-to games when I just want something cozy and familiar when in front of the computer. I have been playing it for years but never managed to finish it, until now that is. I felt it was time. No more falling at the finish line, and no more daemons mocking me in my sleep! This time the baron of hell was going to be sent back where he belongs, regardless of how many tries it would take me. And it sure did take me a couple.
Ardania must be saved
Ardania has fallen into hard times after having centuries of peace and prosperity. The most recent King of the land found it a bit too calm to his liking, so he did what anyone would do when you are desperate for action: summoned the baron of hell. The reason for this is that he wanted his name to pass into legacy like his ancestors who all got to fight necromancers, devils, and monsters to prove themselves. Not too surprisingly, the baron of hell turned out to be a step above his skill level, and he was quickly dispatched, among the most of the royal bloodline.
Here is where you come in. You are the last of the dynasty. The only one left to step up to the plate and fight this hellish invasion of an assortment of monsters and daemons to save Ardania. The mission is clear – do or die trying!
Now, Majesty 2 is not a serious game, as the story is presented as a comedy – and a damn funny one I must add. Joss Whedon type of writing begone! This is the humor of the old-school way, where the narrative is presented in a semi-serious way, but then makes jokes about it in every single way through stereotypes and Monthy Python-esque humor. One big contributor to this is your advisor who nails this through a mix of sternness with plenty of puns and jokes. Each mission starts and usually ends with him describing the situation at hand, and often he manages to get a snicker out of me. I don’t usually like comedy games, but this one just feels right. The balance between providing a challenge, tone of writing, and mechanics is hitting the perfect note for me. A good example of what can be expected you will find in the game intro of Majesty 2:
Strategy, but different
Majesty 2 has the characteristics of a standard RTS, however with one major difference – you don’t control any of the units directly. You do build bases, as in barracks of the various kinds, like warrior and cleric guilds which can house three units each. You can build as many barracks as you like, so there are no restrictions on how many warriors you can house at the same time for example. But here is where the unique mechanics come in. These fighters for the realm must level up to stand a chance against the greater evils of the world, and how can you level up when a million others are trying to do the same? Think World of Warcraft’s new expansion zones just after a release, and you will get my point. You need to find a balance between army size, and letting your minions find monsters to slay to earn those precious XP points.
How this works is that you put out bounties (gold rewards) on what you want accomplished. Do you want a segment of the map explored? Put down an explore flag, and value the bounty appropriately. The further away, the more gold it costs to motivate the tiny greedy heroes. The heroes also come with different preferences. The ranger likes to explore and the cleric likes to defend. That’s not to say they won’t do anything else, but more gold might be required to incentivize them to do so. The gold they collect from your tasks, and killing monsters they will spend in shops that you will also have to build up. You can build everything that both a fledgling adventurer and a true veteran hero need – from markets that sell health potions to a blacksmith that provides the finest and rarest weapons. You see, the economy is a tight loop, you don’t get any gold from resources as in traditional RTS games. The gold you require all comes from taxes from buildings and shops. The more you build the richer you will become. It’s very important to protect these buildings and the tax collectors, without them a death spiral can come quickly – especially when your treasury is empty and have no way to motivate your little heroes to defend you from certain peril.
I find the mechanics enjoyable, even if it can get frustrating at times when your level 25 Paladin of the Absolute Holiest of Heavens refuses to do anything while the world burns around him. Who knew Paladins was that stingy for money? It’s cozy fun to watch your heroes start at level one to eventually become powerhouses – it’s much like watching your own private little MMO, with you being the mastermind behind it all, both handing out prices and quests. Not to forget, considering the MMO influences, is that heroes can band up in a tavern, creating their own little adventure groups. You can pick the composition of heroes, but you can also make it random. But having a healer in the party always helps the guys survive a few messy encounters. I should add that each mission lets you keep one hero for later use on other maps. However, these heroes are expensive, especially if they are high-level. Often they prove to be worth it though, the edge they bring can and will turn around some crucial battles.
It’s not easy
For being a comedy game, Majesty 2 is very difficult, and many maps require META knowledge to complete. Aka, with you starting a mission and losing it, to then form your strategy for the next round. The first couple of missions are not that tough, yet the difficulty quickly escalates, and many of the maps have unique campaign mechanics that you will quickly have to learn and understand. Many missions also come with sidequests, that will grant you money or different kinds of help, however, these can be failed with the main mission still being completable. I like that, since often these tasks require a little extra from you, and sometimes it’s just too much of a risk. That merchant that wants protection through undead lands will just have to fend for himself this time.
If you ever decide to give Majesty 2 a go, here are a few tips to help out to lessen the frustration. Make a beeline for Paladins and Priestesses of Agrela when you get access to them. These are expensive to build and require a lot of upgrade costs for your keep, but the faster you can get these out, the better. Paladins are the hardest melee fighters, bar none. They can survive a ton of damage and are in general great tankers. Get them out ASAP, so they have time to level up before the evil big boys come knocking. The Priestesses of Agrela is a good unit too, especially with their area of effect healing, but what makes this unit important to build is that the temple that houses them allows you the research the majesty spell resurrection. This spell allows you to resurrect any falling hero for a static cost of 700 gold if you are quick enough before they pass on to the afterlife (the graveyard). You see, high-level heroes cost a fortune to resurrect if you have to do it through the graveyard, some even costing several thousand to bring back alive. By having the resurrection spell ready, you will be saving a ton of gold that can be used for upgrades and other improvements, like expanding your stock of weapons and armor sold.
One last tip is to make use of towers, even if they get expensive after a while and that’s because their cost increase with each one you build. These towers might not stop the most evil of daemons, but they will stop and occupy most other things, like the sewer rats. When it comes to trade houses, always upgrade them too, and give them a watch tower. With a tower and an upgraded trade house, they can usually fend for themselves – providing you with money for the whole mission with little involvement from you. If you want some good towers for protection, do a rush for the dwarfs, as their cannon tower of stone can withstand most creatures, except the most angry and evil monsters. A good setup of towers with the defend marker with a nice reward added will hold against most things, and provide a nice stream of XP for your heroes without too much worry. Other than these tips, you need luck, and plenty of it!
It’s a looker
Majesty 2 looks great, especially considering its age now, rivaling even the more recent games of the genre (RTS). It runs very smoothly and has great colors and detail. The animations for all the different kinds of units also look impressive. A lot of care and immersion (and comedy) went into this aspect, to make it a joy to watch and follow the heroes skirmishing against various monsters. One of the greatest animations that always brings a smile to my lips is when either one of your heroes or a monster gets thrown tens of meters through the air by a hard blow or magic. It just looks good and is funny to boot.
The voice acting is on the same level as the visuals. There isn’t much voice acting per se, except the advisor and a few bosses that will mock you relentlessly, but as a whole package, it’s great and fairly impressive. Your heroes all come with lines that match their class and what is stereotypically connected to them – from the boastful warrior to the greedy rogue. These lines also match the situation that they are in, a warrior can go from proudly saying that his day has not yet come while cleaving an ogre in half, to crying out for help while being chased by a pack of sewer rat creatures. It’s a delight and matches the tone of the game. The music is also good and varied, from the more somber fantasy tunes to the harder battle pieces. All in all, Majesty 2 has an excellent presentation.
In conclusion
I find Majesty 2 to be an excellent and very amusing game, and as I said in my opening, it’s one of my go-to games when I just want something cozy to dig into. The mechanics are unique and fun, which together with the sound and visuals makes this title stand out. Now, I don’t get the hate for this game. It seems undeserved, but then again, I have not played the first game in the series so I didn’t come to Majesty 2 as a fan of the first. However, I got to say, as a standalone product it’s a wonderful time capsule to when games didn’t have to be that serious, and AA level productions flowed freely. There are a couple of expansions and DLCs made for the game too, however, I have not played any of them. They do look interesting though. In one you even get to play as the monsters! And with that, I can’t give enough of a recommendation, especially if you like a good challenge.
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
| System: | PC (Steam) |
| Played with: | Mouse & keyboard |
| Mods/fixes: | None |
| Enjoyment rating: |  |
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